A new year brings new opportunity, growth and challenges especially for industries such as technology that are well-known for constant evolution. Technology companies are often heavy in their data-driven decision making, which results in improvements and changes. These evolving companies are becoming one of the largest companies in the world.
2017 will be no different for the growth of the technology industry around the world. Europe is an important hub for the tech industry growth because the number of private technology companies has risen to 47 this year according to investment bank GP Bullhound.
This growth is just part of the global story where there are 6 technology companies to watch this year.
Spotify, a music and playlist platform, now has an estimated valuation of $8.5 billion, which has overtaken Skype as the most valuable European tech company.
Spotify continues to grow and expand around the world in a new era of music consumption via iTunes and other online sites. Their growth has been exponential in recent years, including recently publicly offering soon-to-be former US president Barack Obama.
This company has the capacity to help solidify Europe's position as a technology leader that rivals Silicon Valley in California. Their slogan captures why their product is putting them on the map, "One account. Listen Everywhere".
Chimp is a Canadian company that is a donation platform that helps consumers go to one place to make their financial contribution to multiple charities. You can deposit money into your Chimp account anytime you want then when you are ready you can give to any charity in Canada. This kind of giving is making the process of making a decision easier than ever.
Chimp began in 2011 with the idea that everyone should access to the tools to easily integrate giving with their daily living. The company had a goal to give everyone their own free foundation and the tools to give and fundraising for any registered charity in Canada. Chimp has been on the market since early 2014 and 2017 should be a big year for growth.
Classy continues to show it's a leader in the next generation fundraising for charities around the world. Tech industry experts have suggested that Classy is fast replacing a similar yet old school platform, Blackbaud. This growth in the fundraising on mobile and online will help grow this valuable company. Classy is currently the number one online and mobile fundraising platform right now with more than $48 million in funding at the moment.
RentMoola is another Canadian company to watch in the coming months of 2017 because they just recently opened a San Fransisco office and continue to growth. RentMoola is an online global payment network that allows tenants and owners to pay rent and other payments by credit card, debit card, rm eCheck, RM Cash or RM BillPay while enjoying rewards.
RentMoola was inspired by brothers Patrick and Philpp Postrehovsky experiencing the frustrations of paying rent. Patrick experienced the difficulty of paying rent with cash in Shanghai and following this the idea of how paying rent can be rewarding was born.
"Renters expect to make rewarding payments when they want, from anywhere, and RentMoola lets them do just that," said Philpp Postrehovsky
The company is now in over 400 cities around the world with hundreds of property managers on board with the app.
While many business to business operations in the world have some form of analytics or lead generation software, whoisvisiting.com is designed to show you the identity behind the data. This company's platform is designed to not only give you data but turn your leads into sales. Ultimately that's what helps every company grow into a prosperous venture.
Whoisvisiting is an almost 3 year old company that provides sales professionals with the quality and accurate data they need to grow their companies. This platform identifies the key people within organizations and provides essential quality information. While most lead generation platforms offer a 2 to 5 percent conversion rate, Whoisvisiting gets a conversion rate of up to 25 percent.
This is a UK technology worth watching to see it's expansion and impact in the industry in the years to come.
Slack is a user-friendly team communications tool that brings all members of you team together in one place. The tool is instantly searchable and available wherever you go, including your phone and laptop. The company started in February of 2014 and now states they are the fastest growing business to business application ever. Slack said recently that they now have over 4 million daily active users.
Slack customers said that they are 32 percent more productive on average due to the reduced email communication. Customers also suggest that the tool has helped them reduce internal meetings and feel more connected with the whole team.
While the tool is innovative and engaging, increased efficiencies like these ones can help save money in the long run. The kind of savings that all companies and organizations are looking to make in the long term. Nonprofits, businesses and any kind of team can make use of this growing tool. Slack is a company to keep your eyes on for their expansion in the months to come.
Manish Madhvani, a managing partner and co-founder of GP Bullhound, said that the report showed that the European tech sector was strong. "There has never been a better time to operate within the European market. I firmly believe that the right ecosystem now exists for one of the companies highlighted in this report to push forward and reach a $10bn valuation in the next few years. With time, Europe could even produce its first $100bn tech company."
Madhvani is not only right about the growth in Europe but it stands true for all regions around the world.
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